Many types of animal shelters or housings exist for both indoor and outdoor use. Prior shelters have been known which include features such as floor drains, exterior hold-down stakes, multi-channel ventilation or liberal use of thermoplastic construction materials.
One prior improvement is the use of a two piece thermoplastic molded design generally configured as a top roof portion and a base portion. Often, these pieces are designed to permit the roof portion, in an inverted position, to nest within the base portion for ease of storage and transport. Unfortunately, two piece plastic shelters often use external latching methods to connect the two pieces together. This extra hardware increases cost of the shelter and complicates the assembly process.
Other aspects of existing patents for animal shelters include exterior stakes to hold the shelter in place. However, external hold-down stakes also present some disadvantages. For example, the stakes can be cumbersome to navigate around and may even pose a tripping hazard. Furthermore, external stakes add to the effective surface area taken up by the shelter without increasing the usable space. Although a heavier weight shelter may be less likely to be overturned or dislocated under windy conditions, a heavier shelter would be more difficult to move and more expensive to transport. Thus, a better way of fixing a light-weight shelter to the ground is needed.
Another possible feature is a floor drain. However, if a shelter with a floor drain is placed on soggy or low lying ground, these drains may actually allow water to enter into the shelter instead of draining water away from a wet animal occupying it. Therefore, one needed improvement is a way to drain off water which an animal brings inside the shelter, but at the same time prevent the encroachment of water from low lying or soggy areas.
Some shelters resort to sophisticated multi-channel ventilation techniques by molding additional walls to provide rain-free air vents. One example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,956 to Greitzer et al. Unfortunately, the special shaping of the walls prevents nesting of the roof portion in an inverted position inside the base portion due to the peculiar wall shape. Thus, a rain-free cross-ventilation system which still permits nesting of the roof portion in the base piece for storage and transportation is needed.
Consequently, a new design for an animal shelter is needed which may be used indoors or outdoors. This design should facilitate connection of a plastic molded roof or top portion to a base portion without additional hardware. Also, this new shelter should provide for a new type of hold-down staking that does not pose a hazard or occupy unnecessary space. In addition, a way to drain water from wet animals occupying the shelter without facilitating the inflow of water is desirable. Finally, a cross-ventilation system that prevents the entry of precipitation but still allows for nesting of the roof or top portion in an inverted position in the base portion is also desirable.